Since the 19th century, when art history became an established academic discipline, works of art have been "read" in a variety of ways. These different ways of describing and interpreting art are the methodologies of artistic analysis, the divining rods of meaning.

Since the 19th century, when art history became an established academic discipline, works of art have been "read" in a variety of ways. These different ways of describing and interpreting art are the methodologies of artistic analysis, the divining rods of meaning.